David W. Berry
Top rated Business Litigation attorney in Santa Rosa, California
Berry & Babb Law, PC
Practice areas: Business Litigation, Construction Litigation, Real Estate; view more
Licensed in California since: 1995
Education: University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2025 - 2026 
Selected to Rising Stars: 2009 - 2010 Call today:
707-952-8625
Berry & Babb Law, PC
3550 Round Barn BlvdSuite 312
Santa Rosa, CA 95403 Visit website
A veteran attorney with nearly 30 years of experience, David W. Berry has cemented his reputation as a stalwart advocate through his efficacious legal practice, ensuring his clients get the top-quality representation they deserve across a wide range of legal matters. At Berry & Babb Law, PC, in Santa Rosa, California, he is well-equipped to handle issues involving real estate disputes, business conflicts, defective construction claims on behalf of property owners and many more.
Mr. Berry completed his undergraduate studies in 1992, graduating with his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He went on to attend the UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings), where he strengthened his shrewd legal acumen and talents through his active involvement on campus. He received his Juris Doctor in 1995, and in the same year, he obtained his license to practice law in California.
Utilizing all the legal tools in his arsenal at his clients’ behest, Mr. Berry emphasizes personalized attention, meticulous focus and a tenacious work ethic, along with an enthusiastic zeal to see his clients free of their legal woes. For his many contributions, he has been rated “Very Good” on Avvo and has garnered the adulation of his peers for constantly pushing the boundaries of client-centric representation to even greater heights in his industry. Outside his law practice, he maintains close affiliations with many legal organizations of great prominence, including The State Bar of California and the Sonoma County Bar Association, among many others.
Practice areas
Business Litigation, Construction Litigation: Consumer, Real Estate: ConsumerFocus areas
Condominiums & Cooperatives, Construction Defects, Non-Compete Agreements, Trade Secret
- 40% Business Litigation
- 30% Construction Litigation: Consumer
- 30% Real Estate: Consumer
First Admitted: 1995, California
Professional Webpage: https://www.berryandbabb.com/team
Bar / Professional Activity
- Founder and inaugural chair of Real Property Section of the Sonoma County Bar Association (current)
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- United States District Court, Southern District of California
- United States District Court, Northern District of California
- Bench/Bar Committee of the Sonoma County Bar Association (prior)
- Sonoma County Bar Association Education Committee member (current)
- Sonoma County Bar Association Board member (current)
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
- Summer 2010 unanimous maximum jury verdict for client in breach of oral contract case, plus court-awarded cost-of-proof attorney fees. $7.5 million settlement for the Santa Rosa Junior College for construction defects in its health science building. $5.7 million settlement for owners of large industrial buildings for condensation damage caused by construction errors. $3 million settlement for condominium homeowners’ association for faulty siding. Trial victory where client obtained title to neighbor’s property by way of adverse possession. Trial victory enabling secondary access to ten-acre hilltop property, thereby making it separately marketable as valuable estate site, upon the theory of license which neighbor was estopped from revoking. Settlement of dispute, for large payment to client, founded on claim that client owned exclusive easement in gross to provide access to a valuable plateau of property. Settlement, for pennies on the dollar, of claim for breach of contract regarding sale of a seven-hundred-acre agricultural property, after Mr. Berry won a motion to compel psychiatric records regarding the opponent’s capacity to have entered the underlying purchase agreement. Successful defense of claim by the Mendocino County that client inadequately designed a landfill closure system for a county landfill. Successful defense of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison of claim by the American Lung Association of Los Angeles County that law firm gave inappropriate advice to terminate a planned giving program
Pro bono / Community Service
- Adult Literacy League of Sonoma County, a nonprofit organization helping adults acquire literacy skills. Board member, 1999-2000
- Redwood Empire Food Bank, a nonprofit organization providing food assistance in Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte Counties. Chair of the board, board member, 2022 to current
- Food From The Bar, a joint venture between the Sonoma County Bar Association and the Redwood Empire Food Bank to raise awareness and donations of money, food, and volunteer hours from the local legal community. Inaugural chair, 2022
- Sonoma County Bar Association, a nonprofit organization serving the community and legal professionals in Sonoma County. Board president, vice president, secretary, member, and real property section chair, 2010-2023
- Legal Aid of Sonoma County, a nonprofit organization helping disadvantaged individuals access the legal system. Board president, board vice president, board member, 2000-2005
Educational Background
- University of California, Berkeley (B.A. in rhetoric, 1992); recipient of the Student Life Achievement Award, 1992
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- Bench Bar Retreat: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging in the Sonoma County Legal Community (October 7, 2022) Presented by the Sonoma County Bar Association and Co-Hosted with Hon. Arthur A. Wick
- Asserting Your Rights In A Neighborly Way (June 19, 2006) Press Democrat – Business Section
- Drawing The Line, an article about property issues and rights (June 2006) NorthBay Biz Magazine
- Buying Property Can Pose Substantial Risks (May 14, 2007) Press Democrat – Business Section
- When Your Commercial Building Is A Lemon Published with W. Barton Weitzenberg and Patrick W. Emery (2007) NorthBay Biz Magazine – Best of the North Bay issue
- 998 May Change Your Case’s Fate Published by David W. Berry (2014) The Bar Journal – Summer issue
- Law of Easements: Legal Issues and Practical Considerations in California, Day-long Seminar (2007 and 2008) Presented with three other experts at the Sonoma County Bar Association
- Evidence Code § 1119: What You Don’t Know About It Will Hurt You, Seminar (February 26, 2009) Presented with Hon. William Bettinelli at the Sonoma County Bar Association
- Real Property Update: Foreclosure, Seminar (March 15, 2010) Presented to the Sonoma County Legal Secretary Association
- Real Property Update, Adverse Possession, Seminar (March 26, 2010) Presented at the Sonoma County Bar Association
- Show Me the Money: Hot Issues in Construction Defects, Seminar (April 27, 2012) Presented at the Sonoma County Bar Association
- Real Property Update, General Issues, Seminar (May 30, 2012) Presented at the Sonoma County Bar Association
- Real Property Update, Seminar (August 15, 2013) Presented at the Sonoma County Bar Association Eminent Domain and You, Seminar (June 10, 2013) Presented at the Sonoma County Bar Association
- Offers of Judgment: CCP § 998, Seminar (December 11, 2013) Presented at the Sonoma County Bar Association
- Getting it Admitted into Evidence, Seminar (March 12, 2015) Presented with Hon. Gary Nadler at the Glaser Center
- Presenting Evidentiary Exhibits, Seminar (February 9, 2017) Presented with Hon. Arthur A. Wick at the Sonoma County Bar Association
Honors
- Listed in Northbay Business Journal's Who's Who In Law, published on March 29, 2010
- Who’s Who in Law. North Bay Business Journal, published on March 29, 2010
- Northern California Rising Star, which identifies Mr. Berry as one of the top trial attorneys in Sonoma County, as selected by Super Lawyers, 2009 and 2010
- Awarded “Lawyer of Distinction” 2021 Sonoma Magazine (peer-rated: based on recommendations from local attorneys)
- Leadership Santa Rosa graduate (2009), which is a select year-long program of the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce
- "Forty under 40" recipient (2008), as selected by the North Bay Business Journal as one of the forty exceptional business leaders under forty years of age in Sonoma, Marin, and Napa Counties
Office location for David W. Berry
3550 Round Barn Blvd
Suite 312
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Phone: 707-952-8625
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2025 - 2026
- Rising Stars: 2009 - 2010
